The Concept of “Screen Time” Is No Longer Relevant

Alexis Lauricella, Ph.D.

Director of the Erikson Institute Technology in Early Childhood (TEC) Center, Alexis Lauricella, explains why parents should let go of their concerns about screen time and focus instead on the quality of children’s digital experiences.

The term screen time has long been the focus of almost all articles about young children and media or technology use. It largely stemmed from the well-intentioned use in the medical field with the American Academy of Pediatrics 1999 recommendation to limit young children’s screen time to two hours. The phrase screen time has been a mantra that has been repeated across academic research articles, press articles, pediatrician recommendations, and even screen media developers. I think one positive that has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the realization that the term screen time should now be placed at a social distance of at least six feet away.

I think one positive that has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the realization that the term screen time should now be placed at a social distance of at least six feet away.

Screen time was and can be an important measure. But it has long been known that other variables beyond time are critical to consider when thinking about the impact that the screen may play on child development. Author Lisa Guernsey discusses the three C’s—Child, Content, and Context—as three critical ways in which we should evaluate screen media use with young children. The most recent American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) recommendation for media use discusses these content and context variables. The article states that co-viewing content with your young child supports learning, and video FaceTime or Skype interactions with distant family members can facilitate social connection. These recommendations are heavily supported by the decades of research that has been conducted to better understand the effects of screen media on youth.

Here are three recommendations and the research evidence that currently supports them:

Trust the Experts

High-quality educational content for young children was not developed overnight. Television producers began creating such content like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street more than 50 years ago. Sesame Street, for example was not only informed by experts in education and child development but has been tested, edited, evaluated, and improved to continuously ensure that it had supported viewers’ academic and social development. When searching for content, find the brands and companies you trust and check out their content first. Most high-quality producers are creating content for a range of platforms, so check out their websites and try their apps, games, websites, and online storybook content first. Also, there are some great resources to help you make content decisions, including nonprofits like Common Sense Media that provide age-based reviews of all types of media content.

Know Your Child

If your child is very young, has not watched much screen media, or generally takes more time to process fast-paced information, select media content that is slower, more repetitive, and calming. Doing so can help your child learn to learn from a screen. Young children’s brains do not operate as quickly as older children’s and so watching even something simple on a screen takes effort. Researchers have found repetition of content and familiar, interactive characters support learning for young children. Also consider your child’s interests, sensitivities, and potential concepts or experiences that they may have little opportunity to experience outside of a mediated context. Select content that will help your child grow, learn, and experience the world around them in a way that is not scary or overwhelming.

Consider How the Media Will Be Used

This is an unusual time for families. Media use at home is likely different for every member of the family, so be aware of the context in which your child will use their device. Will they be in a room with you or their siblings? Will they be alone? Will they be watching a video on a small screen or playing a video game on a large TV? This combination of context and content is important to think about. If your 10-year-old is trying to do social studies reading on her laptop while your five-year-old is doing an online yoga class on the TV and your toddler is yelling for her stuffed animal, that context is not likely ideal nor will the intended goal of that media use be reached. On the other hand, if the three children are watching a show together—even if that show is not perfectly age-appropriate for the oldest or youngest child—the shared experience, social support, and potential verbal interaction that may occur between the children might be a positive experience for all three.

Instead of focusing on screen time right now, I encourage you take the extra time and focus on the three C’s—Child, Content, and Context—of screen use to make better screen time decisions for you and your whole family.

About the AuthorAlexis R. Lauricella is an Associate Professor at Erikson Institute and Director of the Technology in Early Childhood Center at Erikson Institute. Dr. Lauricella earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and her Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on children’s learning from media technology and parents’ and teachers’ attitudes toward and use of media technology with young children. Dr. Lauricella cares deeply about connecting with parents, teachers, policy makers, and media producers to help connect her research to practice. She regularly provides workshops for parents and educators to help them make informed decisions about the use of technology with children. Recent publications include empirical research articles in Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Children and Media, Media Psychology, Journal of Early Adolescence, Journal of Infant Behavior and Development, New Media and Society, Computers and Education, Public Health, and multiple reports for Northwestern University’s Center on Media and Human Development, as well as for the Fred Rogers Center and Common Sense Media. Dr. Lauricella is also the founder of www.PlayLearnParent.com, a website that translates child-development research for parents.